Responding publicly to state that I saw him do a great job trying to challenge the Parole Board on plea bargains. He still lost the case, but not for a lack of effort and skill. (Some battles just can't be won.)

Responding publicly to state that I saw him do a great job trying to challenge the Parole Board on plea bargains. He still lost the case, but not for a lack of effort and skill. (Some battles just can't be won.)

A good friend might be using him. One reference on the internet wasn't a good one. Would you hire him????
Thanks,

Well, don't know how to handle this but the thread is still here, so here goes.
I was referred to Joe Hylan by a friend who had dealt with him for years. She endorsed him 100%. He has proven himself to be an excellant lawyer and knows how to use his knowledge of "how the system works" to his clients' advantage.
I have spoken with him on the phone and received a letter from him. He is an articulate communicator. That's a plus, not a minus, in my book.
As to the orginal question, "Would you hire him?"
The answer is: Yes, I have hired him and would recommend him without reservation.

Well, I'm sure to some he's an excellent lawyer. Who knows, maybe he's burned out now. He'd made a comment that all defendants lie. (Those aren't the exact words.) My question is, do all defendants lie? When you have the word "defendant" next to your name, are you automatically lumped into a category of "evil liars"? There's no gray matter; it's just black and white, or "plaintiff-good" "defendant-bad"?

It reminds me of my work. One of my duties is to keep records for juveniles who are incarcerated in adult facilities - it's for a prison high school program. I'm not allowed to shred or otherwise destroy these records. Once the juveniles/students reach 21, I have the records scanned. So, if need be, I can look up records for someone now 50 who was incarcerated when he was 20. It really bothers me that I can't destrory these records. So the word "defendant" follows these folks for the rest of their lives when it's very possible that they never commit another crime.

If you have a lawyer who feels that defendants lie all the time, then I can imagine that lawyer looking at that 50-year-old man and judging him for something that happened 30 years before.

Any one have experience with Joseph Hylan from Norristown, PA as a public defender? Please PM. Very important!!!

I've never used him through the public defender's office but in private practice I call him Uncle Joe. He's not in the business to get rich and he has pulled enough miracles out of a hat to earn sainthood in my family. Just remember, it works both ways. The courts respect him because he is always up front with them, but he has to have the whole story to do that.

I'm glad this thread has turned into a good discussion. We now have more than one point of view.

With experience, a defense lawyer begins to see patterns. Taken verbatim, the statement "all defendants lie" is almost certainly true. I think we're concerned with the size of the lies.

Lies come in two forms: those of commission and those of omission. A lie of omission is as much a lie as its counterpart, and I think this is what lawyers experience all the time. On the same note, I once heard a trial judge say -- from the bench -- that NO ONE had told the truth throughout an entire 5-day jury trial ... It spoke volumes for the idea of "the whole truth."

The defense lawyer can never be compelled to divulge anything his or her client tells him, so no client should withhold anything from the person they HOPE will be able to defend them. And yet, they do ... When the lawyer gets the truth thrown in his or her face in front of a judge or jury, they lose their ability to defend the client AND their overall credibility with the court. And again, it wasn't necessary.

Perhaps the biggest asset any defense lawyer has is his or her reputation for knowing the client and being honest. I'm sure if you ask any prosecutor or judge what they most admire in a specific defense lawyer, that's the answer you'll get.